Doors of Destiny
by God Kaze
Summary: Destiny’s Crossroads is the intersection of all worlds. When three friends are forced to leave it, they discover that they may become trapped without a home. The Dream Weapons guide them through the Doors of Destiny.


There exists a world that is at the center of all other worlds. It acts as an intersection for those traveling to new destinations... or trying to find their way home. If you are seeking adventure, or escaping from danger, you will eventually come to...

**DESTINY'S CROSSROADS**

Naomi let her feet dangle over the cliff's edge. She looked down at the valley below admiring the small village in its center. Light dirt roads sped out from the town in all directions in varying lengths, making it look like a star in an emerald green sky. Every one of the roads ended with a door with nothing on the opposite side. Each of these doors, which seemingly lead to nowhere, differed in size and make. While one could be gargantuan and made of marble, the one next to it looked like it was made for a mouse and made of wood.

"This place is truly one of a kind," said Naomi. "Don't you think?" She looked over at Jace, who was laying on his back, looking up at the sky.

"Hard to say," Jace replied with a smile, keeping his eyes on the sky. "Neither of us have really been to another _place_."

"You know what I mean! Don't you think it's beautiful?"

"Compared to what exactly?"

"Oh, never mind."

Naomi let out a sigh of annoyance and looked back over at the town. With all those doors leading to so many other worlds... she thought how ironic it was that no one in Destiny's Crossroads could leave.

"Are you two done slacking off?" said a fellow teenager from behind them. Naomi tilted her head back and Zaine came into her view. "You could try helping the rest of us in town."

"Or, alternatively, you could do nothing with us," offered Jace.

"I think that would be a mistake," said Zaine, pointing towards the town. "Because a door is opening."

This was enough to make Jace sit up in a spurt of excitement. Him and Naomi looked off into the direction Zaine was pointing in, and sure enough, one of the furthest doors from them was glowing.

"We've got to get over there!" announced Jace, springing to his feet. Naomi and Zaine were amused by his sudden surge of energy. Jace took of running down the long path leading down from their hangout and Zaine ran after him.

Naomi stayed for a moment, admiring the glow coming from the door before following her friends.

None of them knew the terrible change their lives were about to take with the coming of this visitor.

* * *

By the time our three friends reached the moderately sized stone door, it was already closing. The villagers had gathered around the door to welcome the newcomer. The visitor was a tall adult man. His hair was neatly groomed, and his black beard hid his chin. The clothes he wore looked as expensive as the many golden and jewel incrested rings he wore. A large red and vibrant cloak balanced on his shoulders that danced with each breeze of the wind and step of his feet, making it look as though him and nature walked as one. The most interesting aspect of him was his eyes. The gentle blue nature of the eyes gave everyone he looked at a feeling of trust and comfort.

"Greetings," said the traveler.

The first to step forward was an older man of the village. "Greetings," the older man returned. "I am Gabriel. May I ask who you are?"

"It is nice to meet you, Gabriel. I am but a simple count, passing through on my journey. What do you call this place?"

"This is Destiny's Crossroads. It welcomes all travelers between worlds. However, those who are not born here can only stay for twenty-four hours. This is not our rule, but the law created by the Crossroads itself."

"Ah, I see. Then I shall make my visit a brief one." The count walked forward towards the crowd, which parted for him instantly, and walked down the path to town. The townspeople who had gone to see him stayed where they were, watching him. Even the way he walked made you admire him.

After realizing he was staring with the rest of the townspeople, Jace broke free of them and chased after the count. He caught up and walked along with the count.

"So what world do you come from?" asked Jace. "I've never seen that door open."

The count smiled down at Jace, like he enjoyed being asked the question. "That world I just came from is now gone."

"W-what?!" asked Jace in amazement. Almost on cue, the crowd behind him gasped. Jace turned and around and the door the count had come through slowly faded and disappeared. The crowd instantly began murmuring amongst themselves, none of them had seen such a thing happen before.

Jace suddenly realized that while he had stopped to watch the door, the count had continued walking without looking back. Jace quickly ran back up to him and asked, "what happened to it?"

"Taken by the darkness," answered the count. "A fate that will soon befall many other worlds as well.

"Darkness? How did you escape it?"

The count held up his walking stick. He looked through the large diamond handle at Jace's face being reflected numerous times in the crystal. "You'll find, my boy, that with my wealth, and knowledge, anything is possible." With that, he dropped his walking stick down to his side again and continued his stroll into town.

Jace was not exactly sure how to reply to that. But when Naomi and Zaine caught up to him, and he told them what the count had said.

"That's really creepy," said Naomi, shuddering at her own imagination. "How can darkness just take away a world?"

"Maybe he meant the sun stopped rising or something," suggested Zaine.

"No, he means the world is gone now," theorized Jace. "I mean, why else would the door disappear unless it went with the world?"

None of them were sure of the answer. Jace started heading back to his house. Naomi and Zaine, who lived on the opposite side of town, started to do the same. Naomi looked up at the setting sun and shivered again. "I hope we're wrong," she said to herself.

* * *

Chaos ripped through the town. Night had fallen, and the darkness that came with it began to come alive. Shadows sprung to life and drowned the ones they followed. Darkened corners gave the illusion of being hiding places, only for those to slide into them to never come out. It seemed as thought the light of the moon was even fading.

Jace ran through the city, calling for his friends. He was forced to watch as pools of darkness ate fleeing villagers. With each meal, the darkness grew larger. It was not long before entire buildings were consumed.

Finally, Jace saw them. Zaine and Naomi were in the town's center, looking around in panic. "Guys!" Jace called as he ran to them. Small bug-like creatures of darkness leapt at him. He side stepped them and started sprinting at full speed towards his friends.

What Jace didn't expect was the eruption of darkness in front of him. He couldn't stop in time, and ran straight into the black pillar. He struggled against it, but the darkness was like tar and stuck to his body, pulling him downwards into an endless abyss. He desperately looked over at his friends as he struggled, but saw they were in the same predicament. Naomi was trapped just as he was, and Zaine was being drawn in trying to save her.

The darkness elapsed over Jace's face, and the world around him faded. _'No!'_ he shouted in his head, unable to move his mouth. _'My friends! Hold on guys! I'll save you! I promise!'_

_**Amazing**_, said a voice._**Here you are about to die and you think only of your friends.**_

'_Who's there?'_ thought-asked Jace. The voice seemed to be coming from all around him. Was it part of the darkness?

_**The power of the guardian... Kindness to aid friends... a shield to repel all... Is this the power you seek?**_

'_What? Yes, fine! Just let me save them!'_

_**...It is done.**_

'_What's done?! You didn't do anything!'_

The voice laughed. _**How do you expect to fight with your eyes closed?**_

Jace opened his eyes. He was standing where the darkness had captured him, but it was now gone. His right arm felt heavy. Equipped to his hand was a black shield with a red trim. Three red circles in its center made an emblem he had not seen before.

_**You now have the power to fight, use it!**_

One of the black bug-like creatures jumped at Jace. He raised his arm to shield his face. The shadow creature bounced off of the shield and fell to the ground. Its body melted into a flat shadow and crawled away. Another shadow-bug attacked, and this time Jace punched forward, using the shield as a blunt weapon. The creature fell to the ground after the impact and faded away.

Jace then remembered his friends. They were no longer where they had been before, only the black pillar remained. Jace ran towards it, swinging his arm back and forth, shadow-bugs bouncing off of his shield like they were made of rubber.

When Jace reached the darkness, he had to duck quickly to avoid a slash of steel. The blade of a sword was cutting out from inside the darkness. Jace stood back watching the darkness fade and disperse with each slash of the sword. The darkness soon vanished and Zaine stood in its place, panting heavily. In his left hand was a sword with a golden hilt that bore the same emblem as Jace's shield.

"Where's Naomi?!" Jace asked him.

Still panting, Zaine pointed behind his back. Naomi was on her knees behind him, eyes tightly closed, and cradling a wand in her arms. The wand had a green and gold handle. The large blue ornament on its top was the same shape as the familiar emblem on the other two weapons.

"I'm... glad you guys are ok," Jace said to them. Naomi slowly opened her eyes and looked up at her two friends. She was scared, they all were.

A shockwave through the ground caught everyone's attention, reminding them they were still in danger. The three of them looked in the direction Jace had come from. The earth was simply falling... Pieces of ground would break off like a cookie crumbling and fall into a wave of darkness quickly moving through the town.

"We've got to go, now!" Jace said. Zaine grabbed Naomi by the arm and lifted her to her feet. The three of them ran for their lives away from the approaching wave.

The village was soon behind them. The three of them were approaching the base of the cliff they had been hanging out on. A dead end.

"What are we doing?!" Zaine yelled over to Jace.

"I don't know!" Jace confessed.

It was Naomi who broke apart from the other two and ran towards the closest door. She started frantically pounding on it. "Open up! Please! Let us in!" Her wand lay discarded at her feet.

Jace was the first to stop. He ran back to Naomi and started fighting with her, trying to pry her away from the door. "It's no use! They can't here us! We have to keep moving!"

"No!" she screamed, continuing to pound on the door with one hand and pushing Jace away with the other. "Let me in! Let me in!"

The darkness was now only a few feet away from them. Jace felt a tremendous pull in his arm and he was separated from Naomi. "What? Zaine! We have to go back for her!"

Zaine dragged Jace away as he had tried to do with Naomi. Zaine had always been stronger but this whole ordeal had put a lot of strain on him. It was obvious how exhausted he was, as he started to walk slower and slower. Eventually he was weak enough for Jace to break free and start running back... only to see Naomi and the door were both gone.

The wave still did not stop. It continued forward and Jace who, petrified on what was on the other side, walked backwards slowly. His back hit something and he was forced to stop. He felt pinned to the door behind him. The wave pushed forward, and Jace closed his eyes.

_**Don't you listen? Open your eyes!**_

Jace opened his eyes as the voice commanded and was amazed at what he saw. Darkness... but it wasn't opaque and suffocating like before. It was like the entire world had been replaced with a black miasma. But chunks of Jace's home world still remained. Hovering bits of earth, which were scarcely big enough for one person, each had one of the many doors. Jace was actually standing at one himself. Looking down, beneath the platform, he saw nothing. The doors and the mounds they were mounted on where all that remained of Destiny's Crossroads.

Then, Jace heard a faint sobbing. On his left, was Naomi, still hitting her wooden door with her clenched fist. Each knock was now slow and soft, deprived of all effort. Even though she knew it was hopeless, her mind would not let her give up. Jace couldn't tell for sure, but it looked like there a small stain of blood on the door from her repeatedly pounding fist.

"Hey!" Jace called out to her, but no reply came. Well, not from her anyway.

"Hey!" called back a voice from behind.

Jace dared not to turn around with his footing but recognized the voice. "Zaine! Are you alright?" he yelled over his shoulder.

"Yeah! You see Naomi?"

"... Yeah, she's here!"

For a few moments, they all drifted in silence. Jace looked down at his right hand, and realized he had, at one point, dropped his shield.

"I say, that was quick thinking of you folks," said a familiar voice. "I guess my original thought wasn't as unique as I thought it was."

Jace looked around. Up and to the right from where he stood, was the count. Unlike the others, he was not standing at the base of a door. Rather, he had tilted the door on its back and was sitting cross-legged on it like it was a raft.

"Though, I believe I get more marks for presentation and ingenuity," the count continued.

A rumble shook the entire space around them. The pillar of the opaque black darkness rose once again in the center of the area. This time it was much larger. The mass shook and extended, molding itself like it was made of clay. Two long arms stretched out, each set with a massive hand equipped with five long talon-like fingers. Even a single finger would be enough to drown Jace. The center of the darkness extended forward into a head. The head split in the center, forming a strong jaw with numerous pointed triangles that could be considered teeth.

"W-what is that thing?!" Jace asked no one in particular.

The count seemed to think he was being asked the question and answered, "I call him Devour."

"You named it?!"

"Well, I've been through this enough times that I'm used to it. Devour here shows up to eat the heart of worlds when they become vulnerable. He is, like those creatures that attacked your town, a Heartless.

Jace swallowed hard. The word 'Heartless' left a bad taste in his mouth.

The creature, still looking like it was stuck between liquid and solid, swung its arm down at Naomi. The door bounced off of its hand and slipped in between the talons. Naomi screamed, holding on desperately to her spinning door.

"Leave her alone!" Jace called, but the creature remained oblivious of him.

"It seems he's taken an interest in her..." The count commented.

"Jace, are you holding onto your door?" asked Zaine.

"Yeah, why-" Jace was unexpectedly cut off. Something hit the back of his door with substantial force and tilted it forward. Jace gripped the door frame in sheer terror as it completely turned forward. He stared down into the abyss below him, the door above him his only life line. His right foot slipped and the other soon fell after. Jace dangled from the door feebly kicking his legs as it moved forward from the momentum of the impact.

"You alright down there?" asked Zaine but Jace couldn't here him over his own cries of fear. Zaine was standing on top of the door after jumping off his own onto it. He crouched low, holding onto the door with his right hand and his sword in his left. He had created something that was the combination of surfing and jousting.

"Hmm, so much for winning ingenuity... that was pretty cool," the count said to himself. The boys were now far out of ear shot now.

The door slowed down just as it approached Naomi's. "Hold on," Zaine told Jace. 'I'm going to tip it back now." He shifted his weight and the door changed to its upright position. Jace was able to plat his feet back. With Jace on one side and Zaine standing identically on the opposite side, they spun like a two-faced coin.

The doors bumped gently into each other and the three friends were reunited at last. But the danger was far from gone. Devour lowered its hand again. Zaine acted first. When his side swung to the oncoming claw, he slashed upward with his sword. The shadow-beast pulled back its hand as if suddenly stung by an insect.

Devour tried again, pointing its claw dead at the source of the attack. The door swung round and round. When Jace's turn to face Devour came for the fifth time, it was obvious he was about to get the claw. Jace pulled up his arms, and in a flash of light, the shield returned to him, blocking the attack. The talons rebounded off of the defender, but the force created propelled Jace and Zaine's door back into Naomi's. Naomi screamed as her door drifted away from the others.

"Hold on!" Zaine called. He dropped his sword and held onto her door with his left hand. His body was now an "X" extended between his and her doors. The sword lay discard beside Naomi, imbedded in what little earth was there.

The doors swung in unison, and Zaine groaned every few seconds at the strain in his arms. Devour wasn't letting up. He pawed at the helpless trio yet again. Jace was swung into the attack and blocked it again. The force generated sent both doors into a rapid twirl.

"This is not happening. This is not happening." Naomi chanted repeatedly. Zaine yelled out in pain, he wasn't going to be able to hold his grip much longer. Jace felt a suffocating feeling in his chest. Each of those attacks had sent a shockwave through his body. He wasn't sure what exactly they were doing, but it was getting harder and harder for him to breath.

"We can't fight him! We have to get out of here!" Jace yelled.

"If you have any ideas..." Zaine said strenuously.

Devour continued his onslaught. This time, no door was going to swing out in time. The claw was heading straight for Zaine. With his shield in his right hand, Jace couldn't swing his arm out far enough to his left without letting go of the door completely. Zaine did what he had to, and let go of each of the doors. He fell downward, the claw chasing after him. His feet hit a door and he grabbed hold of it. The door was just out of Devour's reach and the claw barely passed by without hitting Zaine, scraping the door.

The force created by Devours last attack sent Jace and Naomi spinning in opposite directions. Naomi was now on top of her door like the count was, but she was far less calm. Naomi was on all fours, holding on for her life as the door rotated completely around in succession. Jace was churning in every direction imaginable, completely lost at his surroundings.

That's when Zaine noticed the wand at his new door's foot. He quickly reached down and picked it up. With the remainder of his strength, he threw it upwards yelling, "Naomi, catch!"

"W-what?" was her reply. Then she saw the wand spin up on her left and reached for it. At first, it looked like the wand was going to miss her hand, but it suddenly changed direction and found its owner. She cradled it in her arms once again, as if it was a long lost friend now home. She peaked over the edge of her door to see Zaine, and found his door turned over like hers, only he was laying face down on it. She called down to him, but no reply came.

Jace finally slowed down and, despite being very dizzy, was able to get some idea where he was. However, he didn't like it. His door had spun upwards and Jace was now facing Devour. The beast opened its jaw. Jace was helpless as the rows of teeth started to surround him. He had no idea how he was supposed to block this kind of attack.

Naomi rotated and was now facing Jace's direction. "No... no..." she said to herself, shaking her head. She didn't want to believe it was happening, but her friends were going to die. They had only tried to save her, and she was costing them their lives. She took a deep breath, closed her teary eyes, and yelled at the top of her lungs, "STOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOP!"

Amazingly, the creature stopped. Jace was silent, unsure if this security was only temporary. Naomi examined the wand she held tightly to her chest. She remembered the words of that voice... The power of the mystic... Inner strength... A staff of wonder and ruin... Naomi gripped the wand even closer to her and softly spoke into it, "Please, I want to be with my friends." The doors that she and her friends were on each started gravitating to each other. The speed they moved at was slow, but sure enough, all three of them were back together.

Naomi leant over and reached towards Zaine, who still lay motionless. "Please wake up..." she pleaded with him. A flash of green light, and Zaine opened his eyes.

"I feel... alright?" He seemed confused at his recuperation. "How long was I out?"

"Um... guys..." interrupted Jace. Devour started moving again. It closed its jaws but found there was nothing inside his mouth anymore.

"Stop!" Naomi yelled at it, but nothing happened. She looked down at the staff. "Stop! Stop! Why isn't it working?"

"Maybe its out of power," suggested Zaine as he pulled his sword from the earth at the foot of Naomi's door.

"I'll say it again, we need to leave," reminded Jace. "Where's the count?"

"I'm still here!" called back the count from above him. "I'm just waiting for my ship to show up..."

"Take us with you!"

"...No. I am sorry, but if you three are not strong enough to get through this on your own, you will find no home in me."

Devour was on the move again. This time, it moved its entire torso forward, claws raised and jaw open.

"Come on!" Jace persisted.

"Nope."

_**Work together! You are far stronger together than apart! Combine your powers!**_

The three friends looked at each other. They had all heard the voice. Jace raised his shield at the creature. Zaine and Naomi did the same. The three weapons crossed each other, and generated a pure golden light. The radiant light extended forward in a beam. It hit Devour and burned right through him. The creature made a gargling noise that could have been a scream of pain. The weapons they held had disappeared into the light. Now the three of them were holding onto the light itself.

_**Good, you have found the power. Now give it shape!**_

"What does that mean?" asked Naomi.

"Well I don't know," confessed Zaine.

"It's alright, guys," said Jace. "I think I know! I got this!"

The beam of light began to retract. It shrunk down back to only a few feet long and significantly smaller. The hole they had punched in Devour started to become filled in by its darkness. Jace molded the light with his will, just as Devour had been formed from the darkness. The light finally took a solid form...

"A key?" guessed Naomi.

"A sword?" guessed Zaine.

_**The Keyblade.**_

Each one of the three gripped a section of the key's handle. A single thread of light spooled from the key's point and entered the Heartless like a fishing line into a black pond. The light stopped and connected to a door on the opposite side of Devour. The door reeled in. Devour made another noise of discomfort as the door that was on his opposite side burst through him and towards our heros.

The new door stopped a few feet away from the gang and slowly began to open. It was a wooden double-door with a stone frame around it. A neon sign on its top had two yellow arrows curving into two different directions. The door opened completely, and all that could be seen in it, was light. The friends looked at each other and nodded in agreement. Jace took the first plunge and jumped inside. Naomi was hesitant at first and then gingerly stepped in. Zaine took one last look at the count, casting him a look of hatred, and stepped through with his friends.

The count watched in great amusement. They had done much better than he expected. The door closed and the count was left alone with the eater of worlds.

* * *

Three bodies lay sprawled on the cobblestone street. Jace opened his eyes, not having to be reminded this time. He did not bother getting up and just stared at his arm in front of him. He noticed a black band around his wrist. The timer displayed on the small plastic screen was counting backwards from 24:00. Despite going through all that they had, our heros were far from free. That watch attached itself to any resident of Destiny's Crossroads who dared to leave. If someone born in Destiny's Crossroad ever stayed in the same world for more than twenty-fours hours, they would remain trapped in that world forever.

End of World 1

* * *

**Featured Character:** Jace

Jace will always do his best to help his friends, and the Dream Shield is proof of his dedication. Although when not helping them, he can act sarcastic and over enthusiastic at times. Jace's true potential lies in his control over "the light" and the Keyblade.

**Featured Heartless:** Devour

Devour is a natural Heartless that appears, usually accompanied by Shadows, to swallow the heart of worlds. He has massive power and carries the legend of once eating a wielder of the Keyblade. His gargantuan strength makes up for his lack of speed.


End file.
